Xiaomi introduced the Mi Mix Alpha in 2019 with a so-called ‘ Surround Display ‘. Afterward, the company filed several patents for similar smartphone models. LG also seemed to be developing a phone with a flexible wrap-around screen last year. Samsung, Huawei, Honor, and Oppo are also known to be working on such smartphone models. Motorola can now be added to the list.
Motorola phone that consists entirely of screen surface
It concerns two patents. It started in June 2020, when Motorola Mobility LLC filed a patent with the USPTO (the United States Patent and Trademark Office) for a ‘Unitary pre-formed fascia tension at least two sides of an electronic device housing and corresponding methods and devices’. The documentation was approved and published on December 23, 2021, and describes in detail the manufacturing process of a smartphone in which the housing is completely wrapped with a flexible screen.
In August this year, the company submitted additional documentation related to the same device. Various new user options are described under the heading ‘Methods and systems for altering virtual button arrangements presented on one or more displays of an electronic device’. This patent was also released on December 23, 2021.
Virtual buttons offer new user options
To the eye, it is super attractive of course, a smartphone that consists entirely of a display surface. However, many will immediately think of the disadvantages: all that glass breaks significantly faster. While the price of such phones will be a lot higher than conventional phone models. Of course, this also applies to the repair costs of such a flexible screen. The question thus arises: what added value can such a device provide?
Motorola has come up with several features to increase the user possibilities of this unique display device. We are not referring so much to the stylus capabilities. This mainly concerns those moments when you carry the device with you in your pocket or handbag
Despite this, it is worth noting that the majority of phone manufacturers are researching wrap-around display smartphones. Although this technology is still very expensive at the moment, the use of flexible screens for smartphones is expected to increase sharply in the coming years. This will undoubtedly benefit the cost price, creating new opportunities for the future..
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